grief in the energy field
This summer was full of loss and full of life or maybe just full of living. My aunt died in July and two weeks later my cousin passed away. I traveled to Minnesota once by car and once by plane. Seeing the landscape shift and reality shifted from here and not. In Minnesota I was engulfed in my huge extended family. It was surreal how my busy calendar of days all of a sudden became open as travel plans, wakes, funerals took place. It seemed like many people had significant loss this year. It made me aware of how much shifts in our reality with a loss as well as with our energy field. Here’s some of what I’ve been thinking about how grief can show up in the chakras.
A death of someone we care about can leave us feeling wobbly and bring up feelings of not being tethered to life on this planet or not feeling like one’s home is safe or comforting. It may leave us questioning the culture we were raised with. This shows up in the first chakra or root chakra.
We may notice feeling a sense of tamping down our life force as a way to align with the deceased. For example, not joining in activities or not returning calls or emails who in the past we would enjoy to engage with. Or we find ourselves taking more risks as a way to prove we really are living – skydiving, being promiscuous, experimenting with drugs or consuming more alcohol. Also creativity coming out with a more weighted meaning. This shows up in the second chakra or sacral chakra.
We may experience a dulling of the sense of personal autonomy, lack of appetite, a clenching in the stomach, anxiety in midsection and lack of mental clarity. We may also question who we are if our loved ones are not here. I was 29 when my father died and I still felt like somehow orphaned by his death, despite living states away for years. This shows up in the third chakra or solar plexus.
We may begin putting more weight on current relationships, demanding closeness from family members or partners, either by intimacy or by wanting to be in close proximity of loved ones. It may feel like we can’t get a full breath. Emotions may feel like they pinball all over the place and often sadness is lurking behind other feelings. It can be experienced as a reevaluation of relationships or a not wanting to socialize. This shows up in the fourth chakra or heart chakra.
Not eating or eating without tasting, and feeling like nothing can satiate. Grief can come out with a slowing down of how fast one speaks or how loud. The volume of voice can also be experienced as out of synch with reality, either speaking too quietly (pulling others in) or loudly (pushing others away). This shows up in the fifth chakra or throat chakra.
Confusion, depressed thoughts, a checking out of current reality to spend time with the deceased person in our thoughts, a sense of time slipping, forgetfulness. We are often caught in a circle of reevaluation of how time is spent and with whom. Everything in life can feel so immense. The pacing of one’s life in general seems off. This shows up in the six chakra or third eye.
Anger or disillusionment with a higher power or the purpose of one’s life. Overwhelm of having to continue living on this earthly plane without our loved one. This shows up in the seventh chakra or crown chakra.
When we experience the death of a loved one, there is a rip in the energetic field. This tear allows sensations of life feeling surreal as well as not feeling protected come closer in. Some deaths bring in a sense of relief or guilt, the person is no longer suffering or they are no longer causing suffering.
How can we give ourselves what we need when it feels we are barely staying above water?
Remember no one grieves in the same way, just because your sibling isn’t a wreck like you might feel you are, doesn’t mean they are doing it better or worse than you are. It can be helpful to give space, time and the gift of support.
In the first chakra finding a space one is comfortable in and allowing that to build. That may be a park or a coffee shop. In the second chakra allowing the pause to come in with help to reduce the destructiveness that rears up. Any outlet of creativity can be helpful – sometimes choosing one that we aren’t familiar with or one that is tactile – clay, oil pastels, knitting, with the understanding we’re not doing this for a masterpiece. Tactile arts can be helpful because they help ground and keep us in this reality. In the third chakra simply placing a hand over the 3rd chakra (right below where the ribs open up) can help with bringing stability to the chakra. For the 4th chakra we’re wanting to not try to harness our emotions, basically every one of them is invited to the table. Talking with a therapist or joining a grief group can provide a safe space to sort through all that’s rolling about. In the 5th chakra we can write notes / sing / talk to the person who died or if feeling vulnerable in this area can wear scarfs / jewelry to offer protection. In the sixth chakra and seventh chakra being open to anything that shows up and doing our best not to judge. For example when feeling anger at a higher spirit or situation we can notice the emotion (not talk ourselves out of the emotion) and actually feel that emotion. Sometimes we judge that we’re feeling angry or bypass the emotion by trying to focus on how grateful we should be for our life when someone we cared about is no longer here. That gratitude is not helpful for us when we are addressing the feeling. Grief can often leave us feeling like we are alone and carrying the burden ourselves, but there are friends, family and therapists out there willing to be a support.
February 1st, my rates will be: Energy Healing (in person or distance) $100, Reiki Session $100, Group Chakra Alignment $100, Intuitive Impression $220. If you'd like to schedule, you can find my scheduler here.